F.A.

1st September

I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. We have a one year old and a three year old so need a car that can comfortably fit two car seats with their ISOFIX bases, their pram and half the house that needs to accompany us where ever we go. The GS and the RX fit that bill but we always struggled with our IS. I’m only 5ft7 and I couldn’t comfortably sit in front of my daughter in her car seat. So for us, the GSF is the best ‘F’ as it suited our needs.

I think you are confusing the IS250 F Sport with the ISF? I’m not sure if the ISF exhaust would fit an IS250. It may be best to go down an after route that is designed for an IS250 if you are not interested in an OEM replacement. I’ve seen some nice aftermarket Stainless steel exhausts for the IS250 on members cars of this forum

Yes, there was no movement on mine as they were confident that they had several buyers lined up. Unfortunately, as these don’t appear too often, I wasn’t willing to call their bluff.

I have noticed that the last few GSF’s that have come up for sale on Auto Trader and the UK Lexus site appear to have sold relatively quickly. The last one which was advertised at Hedge End was taken off with in a couple of days of being advertised. I remember a year or two ago when I first started looking at the GSF, the same cars were stuck on the used sites for weeks if not months with their prices declining rapidly but stopped around the 40k mark. It appears that interest in the GSF has grown? Or I guess it could simply be that they have now reached a value people are happy with?

Yes I think you are right. I found the same with the excess also.

1. We had this exact problem on our 2012 RX450h and it was like that when we bought it. It took a good few years to finally get it fixed as frustratingly every time we took it to the dealer it would behave itself. An error finally showed up on the diagnostics earlier this year and a new Sat Nav unit was required. This has solved the problem and luckily it was covered ( which Bristol Lexus kindly fought for) under the extended warranty as the replacement part cost several thousands before the labour was added. Prior to this, we found that running the recalibrate setting temporarily fixed the problem but it would reappear within a few days.

There was no increase in my insurance premium when I changed from a 2011 IS250 SE-L to a 2017 GSF. It made no sense to me and even the Direct Line sales representative was surprised, but of course I’m not complaining 😜. Both of our cars are also insured for business miles for my wife and myself. Again it made no difference with Direct Line. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Just incase anyone was interested, the knocking turned out to be a broken suspension coil. This together with the bushes are being covered by the extended warranty.

Lexus offered a DAB module that could be retrofitted. I think it was around £350 when I looked back in 2013 but that was without fitting. The aerial was stuck to the inside of the front windscreen onthe passengers side and as a result , looked a bit like an afterthought, even on cars that were fitted with this from new.

We have had both a 2007 IS250 SE- L with the Multimedia system and Mark Levison Audio and a 2011 facelifted SE -L with Full Map Nav. Here are my honest thoughts after running the two side by side for the past 8 years. I preferred the look of the 2011 model. The front and rear lights looked nicer and up to date in IMHO. I felt that the 2011 model still looks fresh in today’s market. The interior was also nicer as the wood was a dark grey colour instead of the brown/ red wood in our 2007 model. The leather in the 2011 model worn a lot better and still looked as new after 111000 miles compared to the leather in our 2007 which had half the mileage on it. The Sat Nav would accept full post codes and screen was crisper on the 2011 model but while the 13 speaker Pioneer stereo was good, it was no match for the Mark Levinson system. It was a shame that Lexus deleted option on later models. Our 2011 model sat on 18” standard alloys compared to the 17 “ standard alloys on our 2007 model. The 2011 wheels never corroded whereas the 2007 wheels lasted no longer than a year before corrosion started to appear. We had one set changed under warranty and paid to have them refurbished by our Lexus dealer on multiple occasions but we just gave up in the end. I felt that the 2007 model handled better and had a heavier but more direct steering feel. We had a few of issues such as a dash board rattle, rear shelf rattle and the wing mirror dip on reverse failing on the 2007 model, which seemed all have been resolved on the 2011 model. The 2011 model also came with auto folding mirrors when locked and auto locking when you pass 10mph etc which neither were available on the 2005-2007 cars as a feature form Lexus. I think there is a retrofit kit to add the mirror feature IIRC. The 2011 model came with the LED day light running lights but you lost the AFS system which was a shame. I’m still it sure why my GSF appears to be missing this function also If I was looking to by another 2IS, I would buy the newest one possible and aim for a 2011+ model if you can live without the ML Audio. We still have the 2007 model but sadly our 2011 was sold last month. I hope this has been of some help.

Wasn’t the Multimedia system with the Mark Levinson Audio also an option across range? It may be worth noting that the Mark Levinson Audio was no longer available on any IS, with exception to the ISF, for the MY 2011 facelift.

Frustratingly our GSF has developed a dash rattle which sounds like it is coming from the centre console/ passenger area. It is intermittent and occurs on all surfaces. Any ideas of where to look would be much appreciated. Very frustrating as I expected that Lexus would have improved on these issues since the 2IS.

Ah OK, yes it does seem odd.

I was under the impression that this issue was rectified on the 3RX models?

Yes, the ride on our 3RX F Sport is fine. This was something we checked before buying it as the majority of the reviews at the time seem to think that the ride was poor 🤷🏾‍♂️. We used to have a Great Dane and she was very comfortable in the boot. We did have the Lexus dog guard fitted though, otherwise she would have made her way in to the back seats 😂.

Surely you should just order the first one which is for your model year ?

Congratulations. Sounds like a car we will hopefully upgrade our 3RX for in the future.

He was very helpful during the purchase of our GSF last month also. I’m sure he will be in touch shortly.

😂 Oh wow that’s a good result. My damage appears to have disappeared, so maybe the recent heat has had the same effect 🤷🏾‍♂️. I read somewhere about the self healing paint but I wasn’t sure if that applied to the GSF, or how effective it would be. Very frustrating. The original owner thing is just a typical excuse for them to get out of their warranty claims 😡.

Our GSF came with one. I remember seeing a quote that someone on this forum obtained for a keycard. IIRC it was a good few hundred pounds before the key was cut. Here is a link to said topic below

I have noticed a knock/ creaking noise coming from the passenger side rear of our 2012 RX450h F Sport. It is most noticeable when you go around corners or reverse in to our driveway up the drop curb. You can replicate the noise if you rock the car. Because of this I am assuming it is something to do with the suspension. Our last MOT flagged up the following advisories. I advised Lexus to carry out the work but they said it would be ok for the time being . I expect that those advisories could be the cause? I am very surprised that these area need replacement already but then that could just be me being naive. Is this normal on a 61k car that has spent its life being driven around town? The car is booked in next week at Lexus Bristol so I guess we shall see!

We have had two IS250s. One with 56000 miles and the other with 110000 miles. The water pump was never an issue on either. Must be luck of the draw 🤷🏾‍♂️

I too have heard about this from the car detailing forums. I was very skeptical and if I’m being honest, I don’t think I would risk damaging the paint using a heat gun or even a hair dryer. However the car has been stood in the sun over the weekend and the etch markings have been dramatically reduced. I first noticed this yesterday evening and there has been another improvement today. You can only see the damage when looking horizontally across the bonnet from the passenger side. The company who the body care guarantee is with do not open until tomorrow morning so I haven’t contacted them yet. The problem is now that it’s so faint, its going to be hard to show them when they turn up. I think I will wait a few more days to see if there is anymore improvement. 🤷🏾‍♂️ Thank you to everyone for their comments.

The bonnet of my GSF was bombed today by some seagulls and despite me removing their excrement within 20 minutes, it has left a significant amount of damage to my bonnet, which was otherwise in perfect condition 😡. The car has a ceramic coating on which was placed by the dealer which apparently has a ‘life time guarantee’ against bird poo damage but I am very disappointed that the paint has been damaged so easily. Our previous IS250 and RX450 have been hit by seagulls on multiple occasions with out any damage. I guess Artic Pearl is more forgiving than Sonic Titanium. I will see what the ‘guarantee’ will offer. 🤞🏾